New Orleans Saints quarterback Jake Haener (3) throws to New Orleans Saints wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown (13) during the first half of the game against the Tennessee Titans at the Caesars Superdome on New Orleans, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024. (Staff photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune | [NOLA.com](http://NOLA.com))
STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD
With regular starter Derek Carr dealing with a concussion and a fractured left hand, the New Orleans Saints are likely going to have a decision to make at quarterback this week.
Will it be rookie Spencer Rattler, who started the three games Carr missed with an oblique injury earlier this season, or Jake Haener, who has operated as the team’s No. 2 all season?
“In fairness to the process, we’ll get another work day in (Thursday), maybe make a decision by Friday,” said interim coach Darren Rizzi. “We’ll see where Derek’s at. But right now all options are still on the table.”
Are the Saints taking their time with the decision because they want to keep the Washington Commanders in the dark about their plans? Or is it because the team truly wants to take the week to decide who gets the start at quarterback?
“Yes,” Rizzi said, with a grin.
It should be noted the Saints are not fully ruling Carr out for the week. Rizzi said the swelling has gone down in Carr’s fractured left hand, and if he clears the concussion protocol and is able to practice in some form or fashion by Saturday’s walk-through, New Orleans is willing to consider having him in the lineup.
But the likeliest outcome is one of Rattler or Haener under center when the Saints kick off against the Washington Commanders this Sunday. Whether or not the team already has a decision written down in pencil is beside the point, as far as Rizzi is concerned. While both Haener and Rattler have strengths, he views them as similar players.
“There will be some nuances in the game plan, depending on which guy starts, naturally,” Rizzi said. “There are going to be things that some guys do better than others, that is always going to be the case no matter who the player is. But there’s not going to be this wholesale deal.”
If Haener were to get the nod, this would be his first NFL start. Though Haener has appeared in seven games this season, the Saints haven’t gotten near as long a look at him as they have Rattler.
Haener has served as the gameday No. 2 in every game this season. While he’s appeared in more than half the Saints games this season, most of his opportunities have either come in mop up duty where he’s run out the clock, or late in the game as an injury replacement where he’s received one or two drives.
The longest exposure the Saints have gotten to Haener came against the Los Angeles Chargers, when he led the final four drives of the game in a 26-8 loss.
Against the Chargers, Haener went 9-17 for 122 yards with two rushes for 10 yards, leading one field goal drive and another that resulted in no points when he threw an incomplete pass near the goal line on an untimed down at the end of the game.
Rattler started the three games Carr missed earlier this season with an oblique injury. The fifth-round pick out of South Carolina had some bright moments, but he struggled overall. It did not help that the Saints offense was ravaged by injury in his three starts, missing key offensive linemen and play-makers such as Taysom Hill, Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave for stretches.
In his three starts, Rattler completed 59 of his 99 passes (59.6 %) for 571 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Both Rattler and Haener had trouble staying upright behind the Saints’ makeshift offensive line. Rattler was sacked 14 times in 119 dropbacks (11.8 %) while Haener went down three times on 36 dropbacks (8.3 %). For comparison, Carr has been sacked eight times on 297 dropbacks (2.7 %).
Carr did not practice with the team Wednesday, and Rizzi said, somewhat evasively, that both Haener and Rattler took practice snaps.
He slid around questions about whether they both took first-team snaps (“They both took reps all the way through,”) and whether this week is serving as a competition for the starting job (“That’s what we’ve been doing since the day that Spencer got here.”)
Anyone looking for more information will have to wait.
“We’re not going to name a starter right now, we’re going to see how that progression plays out, first with Derek and then with Jake and Spencer,” Rizzi said.